T – 3 Days to Race Day

I’m alive! I’m alive! Grad school has been sucking up all my free time, but I promised to pop by when I could so here I am. The last time we spoke I was just running lightly, well fast forward 5 months and I am in depths of half-marathon training and have my first big race of the year in 10 days, the Tely 10. My most favourite race of all time (not that I’ve run many) but I love the course and the support on the road!

 

 

 

Training for this race hasn’t been easy, between school, a trip to Pennsylvania/New York to visit family and Toronto to see Taylor Swift, and trying to come back slowly from my injury to 10 miles has been trying. My trip in a few pictures:

 

 

Chautauqua, New York 

Toronto Island, Toronto 

Glass Floor CN Tower, Toronto

CN Tower, Toronto

Taylor Swift, Toronto

Overall, I have been coming back slowly and I have been doing it SMART! I have been alternating running with other activities, strength training, foam rolling, stretching and physio exercises. I am also not running this race with a PR in mind, I want to finish and I have my eye on my goal race of a half-marathon in September. So I still have 8 weeks of training to go for that following this race!

 

So here I am 3 days out from a 10 mile race and the furthest I have run is just over 8 miles. Last night I did YIN hot yoga to stretch, I have a massage booked tomorrow, and 2 easy runs to go. I am excited but ready for this race and if I don’t PR I will just be happy to finish. That being said, as any runner, I still have a secret time goal in mind. I’ll let you know next week if I achieved it. 🙂

 

Anyone else running the Tely or another race this weekend? How has your training been? 

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Random Thoughts

 

So much snow, ya just got to love Canadian winters. It just keeps coming and coming, we had snow today and more on the way this Saturday. I don’t even remember the last time I ran outside it’s been that long. I just can’t even consider running out in this weather. The roads aren’t cleared enough to accommodate me and the cars so I’ve been seeing a whole lot of this: 

 

 

Though I did manage to embrace winter a little last week by going cross country skiing with the girls where I fell … a lot. Only I could possibly manage to fall constantly while cross-country skiing, I’m not the most balanced human being and there ARE hills in cross-country skiing! 

 

 

Last week I also attended my high-school’s 9 year reunion, apparently no one I graduated with can count! Kidding, it was just a gathering, or something? Anyways all that matters was that it was a fun night out with 3 girls that have stuck with me 9 years out of high school and for that I am thankful and also feeling VERY old. 

 

 

Since my last training update, in the last 2 weeks I have ran / ellipticaled (is that a word?) 21 miles, did body pump 4 times and spinning 2 times. I chose to be okay with that for now because winter and grad school has turned me into someone who never wants to leave her house! My training will pick up eventually and I am still working my way through physio. I am happy just to be working out at all. : ) 

 

I have discovered Mod Cloth in the last few weeks and I. Am. In. Love. I ordered a dress on there for a formal party I have in March for work and I can’t wait for it to arrive!

 

I made this for dinner tonight and it was so so so good. In addition to not wanting to leave my house the past month I have become obsessed with my slow cooker. 

 

I need to clean my google reader and I NEED new blog suggestions, so I ask you: what’s your favourite blog? 

Training Recap + My Race Calendar for 2013

I had a great week of training last week! 🙂 I increased my running just slightly, every little bit counts right? Anyways lets get right to it! 

 

Monday – 4.8 miles elliptical (interval) 

I got home late after class Monday and still hadn’t squeezed in my planned workout. I was exhausted and by this point it was almost 10 but I decided no excuses and turned on Private Practice and got my intervals done. I was glad by the time I finished and passed out shortly after. The life of a graduate student, eh? 

 

Tuesday – 0.98 miles treadmill, 4.4 miles elliptical, and Body Pump 

One of my usual 2 hour Tuesday sessions that I have a love/hate relationship with, I love how I feel when I’m done but it’s rough pushing through 2 hours at the gym. I upped my body pump weights with the hope that I would be sore in a good way the next day. I guess I didn’t lift enough because I wasn’t sore at all. 

 

Wednesday – Spinning 

I love this spinning class, it’s in the morning and the instructor is great! This one had a tough final track, my favourite tracks are the speed tracks but the last “mountain climb” was rough. 

 

Thursday – 4.8 miles elliptical and body pump

I increased my weights again from Tuesday with the hope of again pushing myself to some great muscle soreness the next day. Again I was fine the next day though I felt like I was fatigued at the end of each set. Anyways Ill keep trying to push out of my comfort zone.

 

Saturday – 3.7 miles treadmill (interval) + Ball Squats and Core work 

 This run was supposed to be outside but we got another 15cm of snow Friday night so I missed hot yoga and had to run inside Saturday as the roads weren’t totally cleared yet. Anyways the run went well but I am counting the days until summer! : ) I also did some weighted ball squats (see pic below for example BTW that is not me), I have been trying to do them lately to help strengthen my weak glute muscles from my back injury and adding in additional core work (planks) to help speed recovery as well. 

 

Source

 

Friday & Sunday – Rest 

 

Total Miles – 19 

Total Strength – 2 classes + my own core/squat work 

Total Yoga – 0 (have to make sure that doesn’t happen this week!)

Ah so very true, I am taking it these days one mile at a time! : ) So after some Googling I have made a tentative race schedule. I will probably add in a few other smaller races and I may potentially move my first 5K out a few weeks if I don’t feel ready as well. 

 

Tentative Race Schedule – 2013

 

April 14 – Flat Out 5K

July 1 Weekend – Run For Freedom 8K 

July 28 – Tely 10 (10 Miles)

Sept 20 – Huffin’ Puffin Half Marathon 

 

What does your race schedule look like this year? 

How was your training week? 

A Snowy Weekend + Training Recap

Well we had a huge snowstorm hit us Thursday evening, 48cm of snow fell (though was supposed to be 70 – 100), combined with high winds and blizzard conditions it was a bit of a mess. Friday we spend digging out, the entire city was shut down and we lost our power for 25 very cold hours but survived curled up in blankets and played board games. It wasn’t all that terrible but I was glad when it ended and we got our power back! 🙂 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other then the snow I had a pretty good week of workouts. I missed hot yoga Friday night because of the snow but other then that everything went as planned. Monday I did 2.95 miles in 30 min of intervals on the elliptical before my first official graduate school class. Tuesday I ran 1.36 miles in 15 minutes on the treadmill and then 2.9 miles in 30 minutes on the elliptical after a body pump class. My muscles were heavy for sure after that. Wednesday I went back to spinning for the first time since before Christmas, I went to a morning class so it was a great start to my day. Thursday I squeezed in a workout before the storm, I had 60 minutes planned on the elliptical so I got ready for boredom with my iPad with Runner’s World and a great playlist and did 6.63 miles. Friday – does snow shovelling count? haha Saturday when we finally had power back I headed to the gym to run an interval workout that I planned to do outside but instead due to weather had to do on the treadmill and did 2.9 miles in 37 minutes of walk/run intervals. Sunday (today) I did a body pump class that I loved, though I think next week I would like to up my weights again and make it a little more challenging. 

 

 

I read an interesting article about goals for the year in Runner’s World and it said you should have 2 primary goals for the year for your training. Mine are a PR in the 5K and running a new distance, the half marathon. I am trying to decide what my race calendar will look like this year and started doing some searching. Anyone have any opinions on what order I should do them? Go for the 5K first or the HM? Any locals have any suggestions on races to consider? 

 

How was your workout week? 

What’s your race schedule like this year? 

Resolution Run 5K, New Year’s Eve and 2013 Goals

On New Year’s Eve I ran the Running Room Resolution Run 5K with Bruce’s sister and my friend Sarah. It was a great way to kick off the new year! 🙂 I ran it for fun due to only starting running again 3 weeks ago but I still managed to put a little bit of a push on towards the end. I didn’t love the course, apparently it was different last year but I found it had too many turns and it was a double loop which I hate. I don’t know the official term for it but we had to come back to the start and do the loop again which is mentally draining. I also stepped in a puddle during the first loop so my right foot was cold and wet the entire time. Anyways I finished in 33:23 which I am happy with given the circumstances. I don’t think I’ll be doing this race again next year though. I didn’t love the course and then when I finished I was in too much of a rush getting ready for New Year’s festivities. BUT I love the idea of running on New Year’s so I will probably just run my own Resolution Run in the morning. : ) 

 

 

My New Year’s Eve consisted of an amazing meal (tenderloin and tons of sides) and champagne and fireworks with friends and family. It was my favourite New Year’s yet. : ) 

 

2013 Resolutions 

This year I have decided not to have a huge list of arbitrary resolutions but just a few main things I really want to accomplish and work on. 

1. Run a half-marathon 

2. Strength train twice a week 

3. Yoga once a week 

4. PR in the 5K 

5. Blog consistently 

6. Unplug more, connect in real life, reduce stress and just enjoy every second. (should be easy right?)

 

So here’s to 2013 and just hoping for a healthy happy year! : ) 

 

 

What did you do New Year’s Eve? 

What are your goals for 2013? 

Anyone run a New Year’s Race? 

2012 – A Year In Review

How is it possible another year has gone by? I am mind blown at how quickly this Christmas has gone by and now it’s New Year’s Eve again. Wow. It’s been a great year – but I will say there have probably been more ups and downs this year then ever. If I could sum it up in one word – BUSY! If I could change one thing about this year it would be to slow down, not that I didn’t enjoy every moment but it would have been nice to breathe once in a while. : ) With that being said lets take a trip down memory lane and look at some of my favourite moments and review the resolutions I made last year. 

 

Crossing the finish line at the Tely 10 – this was a huge goal of mine for many years and I am so glad I finally did it! 

 

 

Our trip to Florida and Cruise around the Eastern Caribbean – probably the only time this year I was semi-relaxed. haha

 

Turning 26 years old – I am officially over half way through my 20’s. But it sure was a great birthday!

 

Best party I threw all year – Bruce’s 30th Birthday “A Roaring 20’s Gala”. I put so much into this party and it was a BLAST! 

 

Aside from finishing the Tely, the Run for Freedom 8K was also another race I loved. 

 

One of the best meals I had all summer was the Lighthouse picnic – we actually did something touristy at home for once and I really enjoyed it. 

 

Passed my NKE for my Canadian Human Resources Professional designation! YAY! 

Got into graduate school! : ) 

Fell in love with hot yoga….it was one of the few times this year I was able to relax and breathe. 

 

 

Like I said it was a whirlwind of a year! Now lets review my resolutions I set last year: 

1. Run a half-marathon – Not Achieved. 

The longest distance I achieved this year was the Tely 10 and I pushed through that injured. After the Tely I tried unsuccessfully to keep it up but my injury was too far gone at this point and I stopped running on Aug 26. I made some changes and did a whole lot of physio and got the okay to run again on Dec 9. It’s been a long road but I am happy to say I am feeling great now and hope to achieve this goal in 2013. 

 

2. Guest blog – Not Achieved. 

I was a slacker this year on my blog! I had lots of guest bloggers myself but never took the initiative to guest blog for someone else. I hope to continue blogging more in 2013 but I know I will never be a daily poster. I just need to develop some consistency! 🙂 

 

3. Heal my IT band fully – Achieved. 

I put in a lot of work to get my back and legs healed this year. I learned to love my foam roller and strength training and I am happy to say my IT bands benefited from it! 

 

4. Have a professional sneaker fitting – Achieved. 

This was something I am so glad I did and encourage every runner to do! I love my asics and just ordered another pair a few days ago. 

 

5. PR in the 5k – Not achieved.

I am running a 5k at 5pm this evening – my last race of 2012, the Resolution Run! That being said I am not expecting to PR due to the fact that I only started running again 3 weeks ago. My goal this evening is to have fun and run with friends. This is the only 5K I signed up for this year, 2012 was the year of the injury(s). I am hoping this race kicks off a great year of running for 2013. 

 

6. Get my own blog domain that doesn’t end in .wordpress – Not Achieved. 

Not achieved but working on it – will hopefully happen next year. 

 

7. Organize and clean out my office – Achieved. 

This lifted a lot of mental weight off my shoulders to get this accomplished before starting school next week. I can’t work in clutter and now everything is organized. 

8. Go meatless once a week – Achieved. 

I didn’t keep a record but I think I accomplished this for sure and hope to continue it into 2013. I really feel like taking meat out of my diet once a week is great for my health and I also have some other nutrition changes I’d like to make in 2013. 

9. Try a new fitness class – Achieved. 

Spinning and hot yoga – both of which I am now in love with! 

 

10. Attend at least one professional development event – Achieved. 

I attended several and became a CHRP candidate. In professional development this year, I kicked ass. 

11. Run 1000 miles – Not Achieved. 

After today’s race I will have run 395 miles. If you include elliptical miles then I did a total of 691 miles. Given my injuries and having to take over 3 months off, Ill take it. 

 

 

I achieved over half my resolutions which I think is pretty good! I have a lot more goals I want to accomplish next year. I know 2013 will be a great year, I cannot wait to see what it has in store for me. I hope YOU have an amazing New Years and spend it with those you love. Happy Holidays and Happy New Years and I wish you all the best in 2013. 🙂 

 

Did you accomplish all your goals in 2012? 

What are your resolutions for 2013? 

1 Mile, Marvelous News & Workout Recap

Well I don’t know about everyone else but I have had one great week, especially the last few days. I thought after the great Monday I had it called for a Marvelous Monday post! : ) 

 

 

Bruce and I both had our Christmas parties Friday night and it was such a fun night. I had a great time at both parties, it really got me in the Christmas spirit! 

 

 

Then on Sunday I ran for the first time since Aug 26, I was so happy! On Tuesday I got clearance from my physiotherapist to try and run 1 mile. So on Sunday I headed out, I didn’t stop once and you could not wipe the smile off my face. Just 1 mile but every second was incredible. When I got back I had 3 ideas just randomly pop into my head about something I had been working on the night before for a friend proving once again I get all my best ideas while running! 

 

 

Finally, today I found out I passed the National Knowledge Exam for Certified Human Resources Professionals (CHRP). I worked really hard studying for this exam so I am so happy I passed. I am officially a CHRP Candidate and once I have enough experience in about a year and a half I will officially be a CHRP! This has long been a professional goal of mine so I am glad that I passed on my first time writing the exam, it was a lot of work but worth it. That letter in the mail made my Monday Marvelous! 

 

Workout Recap

On Monday I went to body pump, didn’t change any weights this week but still loved this class, as usual followed it up with almost 3 miles in 30 minutes on the elliptical. Tuesday I did 6 miles in 60 minutes on the elliptical in the early morning while watching my new favourite show Scandal. This was a progression workout and the last 5 “hard” minutes were brutal. Wednesday I headed to spinning class which was not as good as my usual Thursday class but still was a good workout. Thursday I went to the gym with the plan of elliptical and body pump and then the power went just as body pump was starting so I did 1.5 miles in 15 minutes on the elliptical and that was the end of that. I rested Friday and Saturday due to the above mentioned parties and Sunday I ran and I smiled! : ) 

 

How was your workout week? 

Any Scandal fans? 

Tell me one great thing about your Monday! 

Christmas and A Workout Recap Nov 26 – Dec 2

I’ve had a busy start to the Christmas season, I would say my shopping is half done (which never happens) and this weekend we got the tree trimmed and the decorations up while having a glass of wine and watching Elf last night. 

 

 

Today we enjoyed a Christmas brunch before our local Christmas parade. My house is actually on the parade route so each year we have family over to watch and this year we had brunch. I made oatmeal raisin cookies, hash browns and bacon and egg cups and everyone brought something to munch on with them. 

 

 

 

After we were full we headed out in the driveway to enjoy the parade and await Santa. 🙂 Our parade is just for our small community outside the city so Santa is actually my uncle, he has been Santa since I was a child and I was always amazed that Santa knew my name during the parade! Well Bruce’s niece got the same excitement today when Santa called out to her by name, I think she was in shock! haha 

 

 

Like any good parade we came inside after and warmed up again with hot chocolate. What a yummy and fun afternoon! : ) I had a great weekend and a great week, despite the busy season I got most of my workouts in! Monday I went to body pump and then did 2.93 miles on the elliptical in 30 minutes. I love my Monday routine, it’s the only time during the week where I don’t mind getting home late from the gym after work because I always have such a great workout. Tuesday I did my progression workout on the elliptical in the morning and did about 4 miles in 40 minutes. Wednesday we got our first snow storm of the season and I of course didn’t have my snow tires on so I wasn’t going anywhere. We had a beautiful fall so I can’t complain, but I feel like it hasn’t stopped snowing since. Thursday was spinning and as usual the Thursday class was awesome! Friday I started my day with 5.15 miles in 52 minutes on the elliptical doing intervals and then headed to body pump where I increased about half of my weights. I am really trying hard to push myself in body pump and spinning these days, makes it more interesting! I went to hot yoga that night but class was full when I got there, isn’t that the worst? I spent the rest of the weekend resting. : ) Great week, here’s hoping this one is just as good. I already have 3 Christmas parties and dinners to attend so I have had to alter things a little. 

 

Monday: Body Pump + Elliptical (easy) 

Tuesday: Elliptical (progression) 

Wednesday: Body Pump + Aqua Jogging 

Thursday: Spinning 

Friday: Rest 

Saturday: Rest 

Sunday: Elliptical (interval)

 

How was your workout week? 

Anyone have any Christmas fun this weekend? 

What’s your favourite Christmas movie? 

On Becoming A Graduate Student

Well I am really excited to share some good news – I was accepted to graduate school and will start my Master of Employment Relations (part-time) in January. I am really excited to start this new adventure in my professional development and a new chapter in my life in 2013. I know it’s going to be tough to balance work, exercise, eating well, having fun and now school for the next 3 years (or more haha) but I think it will be worth it. My life is about to being a real balance project that is for sure haha. 

 

I am in the process now of trying to organize and prepare as much as I can over the next month. I actually have a list created: Things To Do Before Graduate School haha. I do love my lists! I want to make sure I have my house and my life organized so I can be as productive as possible without having to worry about (for example) my state of an office, little things like that bother me. This past weekend I gutted my office of 3 bags of recyclables, donations, and garbage. I feel like I can breathe in there again! Plus it was one of my new year’s resolutions to clean it out – check that off the list! I can’t be productive with mess so bit by bit I am using this time of year to get everything together for a fresh start in 2013. 

 

 

Keeping up with this blog is tough these days because I’m so busy but I am hoping to keep at it even if it’s just an occasional pop in for a post about running, life, a recipe or how graduate school is taking over my life! : )  I love blogging so I will keep at it even if you only hear from me occasionally! : ) In the meantime in the effort to cross something else of that list, I need to get my new Macbook “school ready” if your a Mac user do you prefer pages, numbers, and keynote or Microsoft Office? I need to make a decision on which one to buy! : ) 

 

Any part-time students and full time employees want to share advice on how they balance it all? 

It’s Never Easy

I wish I could say this time off from running has been easy, but it hasn’t. I thought I’d be off for a month maybe and now it’s been 3 exactly (my last run was Aug 26). I had a really bad few weeks leading up to this past week. Unfortunately my physiotherapist got sick and was put off work for 2 months so in the last 3 weeks I hadn’t seen anyone and then was switched to one of her colleagues who wants to take an all new approach with my back injury. I left the appointment frustrated not because I had to switch physiotherapists, but because of my lack of progress. 

 

I thought about it a lot that day and decided I could be upset and frustrated or I could make up my mind to see the brighter side. My new physiotherapist assured me that this is fixable, but it’s an old injury and old injuries are never easy to fix. Clearly the other approach wasn’t working for me so it’s a blessing in disguise that I get to see another person with a fresh perspective. I am still not allowed to run because my back is still unstable, so I could keep whining about that or I could use this time to do a bunch of different workouts and have fun. I hate the elliptical but I know it’s a necessary evil if I want to maintain fitness but I can also use this time to cross train. I have been doing that since August but it’s just I thought by now I’d be back to running. I’m not and that’s disappointing so I slacked off the last few weeks but not anymore. After my appointment last week I got my act together and had a great week of workouts. No one ever said healing a 7 year old injury would be easy, but I know in the end it will be worth it. 

 

Monday I did an easy elliptical workout for 3 miles in 30 minutes while watching TV, my favourite way to get through elliptical time! Tuesday I did a 4 mile in 40 minute elliptical progression workout again while watching TV, hey whatever it takes! Wednesday I attended my first aqua jogging class and it was actually a great workout, I take back all jokes about water aerobics classes! It was a lot harder then I thought it would be so I was happy I tried it and will be back for sure. Thursday I went and spun my heart out at spinning, I pushed myself and felt great. Friday I woke bright and early for a interval session on the elliptical and did 4 miles in 40 minutes. I forgot how much I love working out in the morning, I feel like it starts my day on the right foot. That night I attended my favourite hot yoga class, it was a great start to both a fun and productive weekend. I got a LOT accomplished this weekend and had a lot of fun, I rested both Saturday and Sunday and I am now ready to take on this week, bring it. : ) 

 

This week’s plan:  

Mon: 30 – 40 min easy elliptical + Body Pump 

Tues: Progression elliptical

Wed: Aqua jogging class 

Thurs: Spinning + Body Pump 

Fri: Interval elliptical + hot yoga 

Sat: Walk or easy elliptical 

Sun: Rest 

 

How was your workout week? 

Do anything fun the weekend?